


In the Name of Science

by keepitdreamin



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Free Fall, M/M, Science Boyfriends, Science Bros, sciencebrosweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-06-11
Packaged: 2018-04-03 03:09:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4084336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keepitdreamin/pseuds/keepitdreamin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are some experiments that Bruce is only willing to do once. Holding back the Hulk while he plummets to Earth is one of them.</p><p>Science Bros Week 2015. June 11: Free Fall</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Name of Science

**Author's Note:**

> Science Bros Week 2015. June 11: Free Fall

He trusted Tony. He trusted Tony. He did, really and truly, trust Tony. It was necessary to remind himself of this when he was in free fall at nearly 500 ft and approaching the ground at a rapid and quite alarming rate. Bruce counted the seconds and willed his pulse to remain low. _One- two- three- four- fi-_ A metal arm wrapped around his stomach and he was pulled abruptly from his dive. As they ascended, Bruce kept his eyes closed and employed his deep breathing exercises. He was still above the ground. The Hu- The Other Guy- hadn't come out. Everything was okay. Okay. Okay.

Bruce could hear Iron Man's face plate slide back and he reluctantly opened his eyes to Tony's bright, excited eyes. “Whooh Brucey! You really _do_ have control over The Other Guy don't you? Let's try from 1000 feet next-”

As Tony continued his exuberant chattering, Bruce sighed and could feel the familiar yet impossible at the moment urge to sigh and rub his eyes. “We're not doing that again Tony.”

Tony's expression immediately flipped from excited to disappointed puppy. Bruce had to hand it to him, the instantaneous changes in demeanor were _still_ impressive, even after months of observation. “But Bruuuuce…” Bruce winced. The whining, on the other hand, was only impressive in how closely it resembled a child who'd been told it was time to put away the toys and take a nap.

“But nothing Tony,” Bruce cut him off before he really got his wind “Can we please move this to solid ground?” Tony pouted grumpily before passive aggressively sliding the mask back down and cutting Bruce off. Oh yeah, he would most definitely be dealing with a Tony Tantrum (patent pending) later, but for the moment, he closed his eyes and returned to his deep breathing. _In and Out. In and Out. In and Out._ _In and-_

-

Bruce had lost track of how many times Tony had said (whined) “in the name of science” and it was only 20 minutes into the discussion (tantrum). After they had landed at the tower, Tony had stormed off to remove his armor in the lab, and Bruce had gone to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. Heart rate back down and breathing pattern normalized, Bruce had finally made his way to the lab where Tony had spent all of 2 minutes ignoring him before breaking. It was really quite an impressive feat for Tony and Bruce would've given hims kudos on it if he'd been able to get a word in edgewise. As it was, he'd been relegated to the standard order of half nods and periodic frowning with the occasional eye roll thrown in for emphasis. All very crucial if he wanted the Tantrum to evolve into a proper Discussion before midnight.

Another 15 minutes and Bruce was officially out of tea and on his way to running out of patience. He gave Tony 5 more minutes before he put his foot down. “Tony, you got your test on how well I could control The Other Guy in free fall. The conclusion is that I can, indeed, hold him off until the split second before hitting the ground. While that is an interesting fact, there would be no practical application of the data given that if it was an _actual_ life threatening scenario, I would not be holding him back till then. He tends to dislike it and there is a lot more damage when he's frustrated at me, so there is no viable reason to do another test.” Bruce could see Tony about to start up again and cut him off (he'd been doing that a lot today, he noted absently), “AND-” he glared down the rising protest, “I'd prefer to remain on- at the very least- semi solid ground for the foreseeable future.”

“So…” Tony tapped his fingers thoughtfully against his chin, “no flying?”

Bruce nodded firmly. “No flying except in planes or- and this is still a little iffy- choppers.”

“Huh.” Bruce could practically see the gears turning in Tony's head as he processed this information, before he shrugged and threw an arm over his shoulder. “Brucey, if you didn't want to do the experiment, you could have just told me.” Bruce held his tongue, it wouldn't do anybody any good to bring up the fact that he'd been protesting the experiment since Tony first brought it up two days ago.

“So…” Tony started again as he steered Bruce out of the lab. “This semi solid ground requirement, does it _in_ clude or _ex_ clude water beds. Just asking out of pure scientific curiosity of course." At the resultant eye roll from Bruce, Tony laughed. “I'll guess we'll just have to experiment to find out. There are several _other_ surfaces that I'm curious about as well. Walls for instance. And counter tops. And showers. And-”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed :)


End file.
